1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to removable chair attachments, and more specifically to a portable back support attachment.
Often in their daily lives, people are required to sit for extended periods of time. Chairs such as wheelchairs, boat seats, stadium seating and some office chairs offer little to no spinal support for users. The risk of injury due to prolonged sitting is minimal if proper spinal alignment and posture are maintained. However, it can be difficult for a person to sit properly for a lengthy period if their chair does not provide adequate neck and back support. The lack of support can cause users to hunch forward, lean to one side, tilt their heads forward, and a variety of other spinal positions that if repeated over time may lead to injury or health risks.
Risk of spinal injury and skeletal structure damage can be reduced by adding neck and back support to an existing chair. Some users place pillows behind their back or underneath their posteriors. Other users employ head rest attachments to provide neck support. These solutions provide some comfort and reduced risk of injury but they do not address and support all areas of the head and spine. An attachment for a low-back chair is needed that provides comfortable support for a user's back and neck simultaneously.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior art contains a variety of cushioned back support devices for attaching to a chair. These devices have familiar design and structural elements for the purposes of providing additional support to a user sitting in a chair, however they are not adapted for the task of providing head, back, and arm support. Nor do they disclose a combination of a winged cushioned headrest with a back cushion, a removable seat cushion, and removable and arm supports.
Nelson, U.S. Pat. No. 3,990,743 discloses a removable back support assembly for use with rigid boating chairs. A small cushion is attached to a rigid planar member that is removably affixed to a boating seat. The back support of Nelson is not secured to a winged head. The back support does not attach to a chair by means of a securing strap. Additionally, the back support does not disclose removably-affixable arm rests or seat cushions.
Mason, U.S. Pat. No. 4,045,834 discloses a collapsible back rest support for a boating seat. The back rest comprises two rods having fabric stretched between them, which serve as a back support. This back support is hingedly connected to a pair of support rods having chair clips attached at their back ends. Chair clips and support rods allow the device to be secured to a boat seat, unlike the securing strap of the present invention. The back support of Mason is not cushioned and is not attached to a winged head rest. There is no means for removably attaching cushioned armrests or a seat cushion.
Simmons, U.S. Pat. No. 4,394,783 discloses a portable cushion having a top, bottom, and base cushions connected by adjustable straps. The cushion has shoulder straps for attaching to a user, and a chair strap for securing the cushion to a user's chair instead of their body. It does not disclose a hard frame attached to and support of the body cushions. The head cushion of Simmons is merely a flat pillow, not a winged headrest. Additionally there are no removably attached arm rests contemplated by Simmons.
O'Connor et al, U.S. Pat. No. 6,648,416 discloses a portable winged head rest having between one and two side wings. Said side wings may be integrally connected to a rigid back portion or may be hingedly attached to allow the device to collapse. The winged headrest is not cushioned as with the present invention. A chair strap is attached to the back portion so that the device may be secured to a user's chair. O'Connor's headrest is not secured to a cushioned back support, nor does it include means for removably attaching a seat cushion or armrests.
McKeever, U.S. Pat. No. 5,967,613 discloses a headrest attachment having a winged cushioned headrest and two cushioned shoulder supports. The headrest and shoulder supports are connected to each other and a chair by a metal skeleton frame. The device provides support to a user's neck and shoulders but does not include a cushioned back support to provide comfortable support to a user's back. The headrest of McKeever also fails to disclose removably attached armrests or a removably attached seat cushion. The headrest does not secure to a chair by means of a chair strap.
Sarti, U.S. Pat. No. 5,690,387 discloses a portable head rest device having a pocket portion, a support means, and a head cushion. Said pocket is adapted to fit over the back of a chair and is attached via said support means to a head cushion. This pocket attachment does not provide cushioned back support like that of the present invention. Said pocket attachment is the securing means for the Sarti invention, rather than a chair strap. The device has optional support arms that may screw in adjustably along the sides of the pocket portion a headrest. Sarti does not disclose a removable seat cushion nor does it provide for removably attached armrests.
Jones, U.S. Pat. No. 7,374,246 discloses a cushioned chair attachment device having a seat cushion adjustably attached to a back cushion. Both cushions have a securing means for removably attaching the cushion to a chair seat or back. The back cushion does not have a means for removably attaching cushioned armrests. Jones does not disclose a cushioned winged headrest secured to the top of the back cushion.
The devices disclosed by the prior art do not address the need for a portable back support cushion having a headrest, back support, and optional seat cushion and arm rests. The current invention relates to a device for providing cushioned support to a user sitting in a chair. It substantially diverges in structural elements from the prior art, consequently it is clear that there is a need in the art for an improvement to the existing portable cushioned support devices for automobiles. In this regard the instant invention substantially fulfills these needs.